How to introduce yourself in English the EASY way!

One of the most common situations that can make you a little nervous is when you have to introduce yourself. This could be in a job interview, when the interviewer says, So, tell me about yourself. Or it could be at the beginning of a meeting or presentation, or when you join a new group, class, or team. You want to give a nice, strong, confident self-introduction, so you can make a good first impression. Well, today I'm going to teach you a super easy way to introduce yourself professionally. And this can be used and adjusted in both formal and informal situations. If you want to download this lesson, you can get the free PDF guide by clicking on the link in the video description and entering your email address, so I can send you that free guide. Okay, are you ready to learn the easiest and simplest way to introduce yourself? It goes like this. Present, past, future. So, you start by describing your current situation, then talk about your past experience, and then finish with a statement that looks forward to the future. Let me give you some examples and phrases to use. So, in the present, start with your name. You can say, My name's, or I'm. My name's Shana. I'm Shana. Easy enough. Then you can say something about where you're from and or what you do. I'm from the U.S., and I'm an English teacher. To talk about your job, you can say, I'm, and then your role. I'm an accountant. I'm a doctor. I'm a student at the University of California. I'm a stay-at-home parent. I'm retired. Or you could say, I work at, or for, and then your company name. I work at Apple. I work for Time Magazine. I work at a restaurant. You could even combine them by saying, I work as, and then your role, at, or for, your company. I work as an engineer at Apple. I work as an editor for Time Magazine. If you want, you can add something about your family. For example, I'm married with two kids. Or, I'm married and we have a ten-year-old son. Most people only do this if they are married with kids. We don't typically announce it if we're single, dating, divorced, or widowed, meaning your spouse has died. If it's a more informal introduction, you could also mention your interests and hobbies. We typically do this when joining a social group, not so much in a job interview, unless they ask you specifically about what you like to do outside of work. So to introduce a hobby or interest, you can say, I enjoy, plus the ING form, I enjoy running, baking, or reading. I like, or I love, and after this you could use to or ING, I like to do yoga, or I love traveling. Or an even more informal way is to say, I'm really into, and then a noun or a topic. I'm really into science fiction. I'm really into exercise. So that is your present, your name, where you're from, what you do, your family, maybe, it depends on the context, and your hobbies or interests, again, in more informal introductions. So my example, my name's Shana, and I'm from the U.S. I'm an English teacher, and I'm married with two kids. Next, say a little bit about your past. You don't want to tell your whole life history here. Just some of the highlights, or the most important elements. If you're in a professional situation, like an interview, or a networking event, you could talk about your degrees, your qualifications, and your past work experience. You could say, I have a degree, or I have a certification, in, and then your area. I graduated from, and then say your college or university. To talk about your past work, you can say, my background is in, and then the field of experience. I worked at, company name, where I was responsible for, and then talk about your roles and your tasks. Or, I have lots of experience, and then talk about what your experience was. So if I was in a job interview for a position as an English teacher, I could say it like this. I have a CELTA certification in teaching English to adults, and over ten years of experience leading individual and group classes, as well as teaching online. Now if you're introducing yourself in a situation that's not related to work, you could say one of these things about your past. How long you've lived in the area, for example. I recently moved here for college. I've been living in New York for about seven years now. You could say, what made you interested in the topic, hobby, or event, or how long you've been involved. So for example, if you're joining a sports team, you could say, I was on a soccer team in high school, and I usually play defense. If you're joining a painting class, you could say, I've always loved painting, but I've never taken a class before. If you're talking to someone you don't know at a wedding or party, here's a way to talk about your past. I've known Amy for many years. We grew up together. So we did our present, a little bit about our past, and finally closed with a statement that looks to the future. So for example, in a job interview, I'm excited to explore how my skills would be a good fit for this role. In a meeting, I'm eager to get started on this project. At a work conference or event, I'm most interested in the sessions about marketing. At a book club, you could say, I'm looking forward to our discussion. Or in a class, you could say, I hope to learn a lot this semester. As you can see, these sentences are not necessarily in a future tense grammatically, but they are future looking, talking about your hopes and what you're excited about and anticipating in the future. The future statement also functions to provide a nice end to your introduction, making it clear that you're finished talking instead of saying something like, uh, yeah, well, um, I guess that's it. Let's see how we might use and modify this present, past, future introduction in different situations. I'll start with a job interview situation. So here's an example for a marketing position. Present. Hello, my name is Alex, and I'm currently a digital marketing specialist at XYZ Agency, where I manage social media campaigns. Past. I have a solid background in marketing, with a bachelor's degree and five years experience. Most of my projects have involved increasing online presence for nonprofits. Future. I'm excited about the opportunity to bring my expertise to your team, and I'm especially interested in using data analysis to increase user engagement on your company's social media channels. Here's another interview example for a project manager role. Present. Hi, I'm Sarah, and I'm interested in your project coordinator role because I think it's a great fit for my experience and career interests. Past. I have a master's degree in project management, and in my most recent role, I was responsible for overseeing collaboration among multiple teams. We had an excellent track record of delivering projects on time and within budget. And future. I'd love to bring my organizational leadership skills to your company to help streamline processes and increase efficiency. And our final example of an interview introduction is for a software developer position. Present. Nice to meet you. My name is Jason, and I'm currently a freelance software engineer. I primarily work with Python and JavaScript. Past. I've worked with clients in many different fields over the past eight years, and I've been involved in the full software development lifecycle, from design to implementation and maintenance. Future. I'm looking for a full-time position, and I'm eager to contribute to the cutting-edge projects here at ABC Corporation. Let's look at some other situations where you might have to introduce yourself, like to a new team. Hi, everyone. I'm Joanna, and I'm thrilled to be joining you on the customer service team. I used to work in a call center in Atlanta, and I just recently moved to this area with my fiancée. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone here and working with you all. Here's an example of a self-introduction if you're writing an email to a new client, again, following the present-past-future method. Dear Ms. Abernathy, my name is Mike Green, and I'm your account manager at Awesome Ads Agency. I've worked with several nutrition companies like yours, and I can't wait to get started on our first ad campaign together. Another good time to introduce yourself is if you're giving a presentation, so you might start like this. Good morning, everyone. I'm Mary Johnson, and I currently serve as the director of human resources at ABC Company. Over the past few years, I've developed an effective method for onboarding new employees, and I'm excited to share it with you today. Here's an example of introducing yourself in a meeting. Hello, I'm Sharon, and I'm here representing the Noteworthy School of Music. I've been involved in musical education for the past 25 years, and I'm passionate about teaching kids the skill of playing an instrument. I have some ideas for programs at this new community center, and I'm looking forward to hearing everyone else's thoughts as well. Here's an example of a self-intro in a class. Hello, I'm Ana, and I'm from Venezuela. I need English for my job, and I've been studying for about four years. In this class, I hope to improve my speaking and confidence. And our final example is introducing yourself to a new social group, like a hiking club. Hi, everyone. I'm Tina. Nice to meet you all. A little bit about me, I work as a nurse at the city hospital, and I'm married with one daughter. We also have two dogs. I have some hiking experience, and I just bought these new boots, so I'm looking forward to trying them out. Now you know how to introduce yourself in English professionally and confidently using the present-past-future framework. Why don't you give it a try in the comments? Remember to download this lesson as a PDF by clicking on the link in the description so you can review all the phrases and examples. I would love to help you speak more confidently in every situation. You can join my Business English course to learn what to say at work, and my Everyday English Speaking courses to learn what to say in daily life. You'll find all my courses at my website, EspressoEnglish.net.